The Ein 'Arik checkpoint attack occurred 19 February 2002. One Israeli officer and 5 soldiers were killed in an attack on an

IDF IDF or idf may refer to: Defence forces *Irish Defence Forces *Israel Defense Forces * Iceland Defense Force, of the US Armed Forces, 1951-2006 *Indian Defence Force, a part-time force, 1917 Organizations *Israeli Diving Federation *Interaction ...

checkpoint near the Palestinian village of

Ein 'Arik Ein 'Arik ( ar, عين عريك) is a Palestinian town in the Ramallah and al-Bireh Governorate, located 7 kilometers west of Ramallah in the northern West Bank. According to the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics (PCBS), the town had a po ...

, west of Ramallah in the

Israeli-occupied Israeli-occupied territories are the lands that were captured and occupied by Israel during the Six-Day War of 1967. While the term is currently applied to the Palestinian territories and the Golan Heights, it has also been used to refer to a ...

West Bank The West Bank ( ar, الضفة الغربية, translit=aḍ-Ḍiffah al-Ġarbiyyah; he, הגדה המערבית, translit=HaGadah HaMaʽaravit, also referred to by some Israelis as ) is a landlocked territory near the coast of the Mediter ...

History

The checkpoint was manned by eight soldiers, five of whom were on duty while three were resting in a nearby trailer. The two militants set out from Ramallah. They approached the checkpoint at 9 pm. Shortly after a change of guards they open fire on the soldiers at the checkpoint, killing three of them and moderately wounding a fourth. A fifth soldier, who served as the look-out, fled the scene unharmed and alerted military authorities. The militants then proceeded to a nearby trailer where the remaining soldiers were holed up. The commanding officer Lt. Moshe Eini and two other soldiers were killed. It is uncertain whether the Israeli soldiers ever returned fire. None of the militants were hurt in the clash and both returned to Ramallah. The two militants were policemen of the

Palestinian National Authority The Palestinian National Authority (PA or PNA; ar, السلطة الوطنية الفلسطينية '), commonly known as the Palestinian Authority and officially the State of Palestine,

and reportedly members of the

Fatah Fatah ( ar, فتح '), formerly the Palestinian National Liberation Movement, is a Palestinian nationalist social democratic political party and the largest faction of the Confederation, confederated multi-party Palestine Liberation Organizati ...

movement. The

al-Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades The al-Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades () is a coalition of Palestinian armed groups in the West Bank. The organization has been designated as a terrorist organization by Israel, the European Union, Canada, Japan, New Zealand, and the United States. L ...

claimed responsibility for the Ein ‘Arik attack. One of the participants of the attack, variously named "Said Saliman Saida" or "Shadi Sawaa'da" (Palestinian sources identify him as Shadi Sa'id as-Su’ayida ar, شادي سعيد السعايدة) was later arrested and sentenced to 7 life sentences. Shortly after his trial he became ill and died in

Soroka hospital Soroka University Medical Center ( he, המרכז הרפואי סורוקה, ''HaMerkaz HaRefu'i Soroka''), part of the Clalit Health Services Group, is the general hospital of Beersheba, Israel, it serves as the central hospital of the region an ...

. A leader of Al-Aqsa Brigades, Kamil Ghanam

amal Ranam Amal may refer to: * Amal (given name) * Åmål, a small town in Sweden * Amal Movement, a Lebanese political party ** Amal Militia, Amal Movement's defunct militia * Amal language of Papua New Guinea * ''Amal'' (film), 2007, directed by Rich ...

( ar, كامل غنام), claimed that Su’ayida "was in excellent health when he was arrested... We are sure Israel killed him as revenge

or the 2002 attack Or or OR may refer to: Arts and entertainment Film and television * "O.R.", a 1974 episode of M*A*S*H * Or (My Treasure), a 2004 movie from Israel (''Or'' means "light" in Hebrew) Music * ''Or'' (album), a 2002 album by Golden Boy with Mi ...

" The second militant was identified as Da'oud al-Haj. ;Aftermath Israeli paratroopers were ordered to avenge the death of the six soldiers by attacking Palestinian police positions. An Israeli soldier who participated in the incident described it as "an eye for an eye". The identity of the attackers were then unknown but Israel held the Palestinian police responsible for letting them through their checkpoints. 15 Palestinian policemen were killed that night, some of them unarmed.

Fatalities

* Lt. Moshe Eini, 21, of Petah Tikva * St.-Sgt. Benny Kikis, 20, of Carmiel * St.-Sgt. Mark Podolsky, 20, of Tel Aviv * St.-Sgt. Erez Turgeman, 20, of Jerusalem * St.-Sgt. Tamir Atsmi, 21, of Kiryat Ono * St.-Sgt. Michael Oxsman, 21, of Haifa

References

{{coord, 31.9010, N, 35.1508, E, source:wikidata, display=title Military operations of the Israeli–Palestinian conflict February 2002 events in Asia 2002 crimes in Israel

History

Fatalities

See also

References